


The Talk

by All_I_Want_Is_You



Series: My boys deserve a family [3]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 10:28:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29699184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/All_I_Want_Is_You/pseuds/All_I_Want_Is_You
Summary: Ray's talk with Luke about how to treat his daughter and with his daughter about how to treat his pseudo-son.
Series: My boys deserve a family [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2179323
Comments: 4
Kudos: 44





	The Talk

**Author's Note:**

> As usual, I don't own anything here. 
> 
> Clarification: For those of you who have read the previous story, because Ray (and Carlos) touched the phantoms with Julie, he is now able to see and touch them whenever, not just with Julie
> 
> Also, huge thanks to JBell97 for editing these stories for me!!!!

It was almost a week after Ray found out the truth about the band before he was able to have that talk with Luke. Julie and Carlos were at school, Alex was out with Willie (“It’s not a date, sir. We’re just friends!” Alex insisted), and Reggie was sitting at the pier, thinking about how awesome his ghost life was compared to his human life.

Ray wandered out to the studio, no real plan in his head. This last week had changed everything for him and his family. Ray moved to sit at Rose’s piano, the one spot he felt closest to her. He lovingly ran his hand over the keys, not pressing down, just caressing the beautiful instrument. He sat in silence for a few moments before he heard the soft ‘whoosh’ behind him that signaled the arrival of one of the phantoms.

“Mr. Molina, sir. I didn’t mean -” Luke started.

“I thought I told you kids to call me Ray. Really, it’s okay with me. Or dad, if any of you want, but no pressure,” Ray cut Luke off. Hearing the boys call him ‘Mr. Molina’ was too impersonal for his taste.

“I know. I just thought that, well, you said you wanted to have a conversation, and maybe that meant a little bit of formality,” Luke explained. He didn’t really want to have this talk, but he respected Ray and Julie, enough to do it anyway.

Right, Ray thought. He wasn’t looking forward to having The Talk with Luke, either. But he felt it was part of his fatherly duties.

“Why don’t we move this to the house. It might make it more comfortable for the both of us,” Ray suggested.

Luke paused, and then shrugged. It was going to be awkward no matter what, so he might as well let Ray feel more comfortable with the surroundings. 

Luke walked with Ray up the path instead of just poofing himself inside. Partially because he didn’t know what room Ray wanted to go to, but also because he enjoyed spending time with the man. Not as much as Reggie, but enjoyed it nonetheless.

It’s a good thing Luke walked in with Ray because he kept going, all the way upstairs and into the master bedroom. Luke hesitated in the doorway, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of going into Julie’s dad’s room, but was beckoned inside by Ray.

“I know you love my little girl, Luke. Anyone with eyes can see that. Heck, I could see it when I thought you were halfway around the world and a mere projection. I also know that she feels the same way about you. However, that doesn’t mean that you can jump into being serious right away,” Ray started. “I’m willing to give you my blessing to date my daughter, but you need to understand something. Julie has a pure heart. She’s dealt with a lot, especially in the last couple years. First with her mom getting sick, and then dying. I need you to promise me something,” Ray continued.

“Anything,” Luke promised. 

“Please, don’t let her push you away. When Julie feels overwhelmed or anxious, she pushes people away. She is scared that people will leave her, so she makes them leave so it’s on her terms. She thinks it hurts less that way,” Ray explained. It pained him to see it happen. Julie would suddenly feel unworthy of something and would sabotage it herself so it would be her choice.

Luke considered what Ray just told him. It made sense, in some ways, but it hurt his heart to think that Julie would feel that way.

“Ray, I love Julie. Like, a lot. And I’m not saying that it’ll be easy, I know it won’t. Not that Julie isn’t easy. I mean -” Luke cut himself off, groaning. Why couldn’t he make sense. He looked at Ray for the first time since he started speaking and saw Ray smirking at him.

“I love Julie. And I’ll do anything for her. I want what’s best for her, personally and with the band,” Luke restarted his explanation.

Luke desperately wished that he could explain his thoughts and feelings. When it came to lyrics, he was confident in his ability to twist the English language to say what he wanted, but speaking was a whole different story. 

Ray took a long look at the ghost in front of him. 

“Luke, I want you to know something else,” Ray waited for Luke to indicate that he was listening, “you are just as important to me as Julie is. I don’t want you to think that this changes anything between us. You can still come to me if something is bothering you, even if it’s about Julie. I can simply be a sounding board for you, give insight, whatever you need. You are still a part of this family, as far as I’m concerned,” Ray looked deeply at Luke, waiting to see his reaction.

Luke closed his eyes. Deep down, he had been worried about that. Ray was pretty understanding about a lot of things, but he had been worried that if he started dating Julie, it would change their dynamic. Tears started to slide down Luke’s face, mostly in relief but maybe a little bit of bitterness as well. Why couldn’t his parents have even half of the compassion that Ray had?

The next thing he knew, Luke was being tugged into a strong hug from Ray. He only understood a couple words here and there while Ray murmured to him in Spanish, the lilt of his speech doing just as much to calm him as the few words he was able to catch. 

They didn’t move for a long time. Finally, Luke took a deep breath and pulled away from the hug.

“I will do everything in my power to take care of Julie and make sure nothing happens to her,” Luke promised. Ray could see the spark of determination in his eyes and it warmed his heart.

He knew that Luke was exactly what Julie needed.

*Later that day*

When Julie got home from school, she dumped her backpack in her room and ran downstairs and out to the studio. Panting, Julie rested her hands on her knees and tried to get her breath back. When she looked up, she gasped. 

There was a bouquet of flowers on top of the piano and fairy lights strung around the window that was behind the piano. It was absolutely stunning. But what caught her attention the most was Luke, standing in front of the piano, holding on to a single dahlia.

“Luke, what…” Julie trailed off, her eyes going everywhere. 

Luke looked down at his hands before straightening his shoulders and looking back up at Julie, “I need you to know something. You, Julie Molina, are the single most important thing to me. I want you to know that I will do anything for you,” Luke swore.

“Luke,” Julie breathed, unable to believe what she was hearing. Luke, who cared so much about his music. Luke, who lived and died with his bandmates. Luke, who cried and wrote music for a parent who didn’t want to hear him play. Luke, who was standing there swearing that she was the most important thing in his life. It was a heady feeling.

She slammed into Luke before she even realized she was moving. The feeling of being wrapped in his arms was one she was sure she would never get tired of. 

“Julie! Can you come here for a moment, please” she heard her dad yell from outside the studio.

“Just a minute, Papí!” Julie yelled back. She spent a couple more seconds in the safest place she could imagine, Luke’s arms.

“I’ll be right back, okay? Please don’t leave,” Julie whispered to Luke.

“Never. Now, you better go see what Ray wants,” Luke replied.

Julie walked out of the studio with a little hop in her steps.

“What’s up, Papí?” Julie asked.

“I want to have a little talk with you. Can you come inside with me?” Ray requested.

Julie was a little confused. She hadn’t done anything wrong recently. She wasn’t sure why her dad wanted to talk with her. She shrugged her shoulders and followed her dad inside.

Ray directed her to sit on the couch in the living room, “I want to have a talk with you about Luke,” Ray said.

“Dad! It’s not like that between us! I promise. The most we do is cuddle with each other,” Julie interrupted.

Ray held his hand up, “While I’m glad to hear that, that’s not quite what I wanted to talk about. Please let me finish.”

Julie nodded, now thoroughly confused.

“Luke is a very special young man. I don’t need to tell you that. What I am going to tell you is that you need to be careful with him. He had a hard life when he was growing up and death hasn’t changed that. He may not react the way you expect him to about certain things. What you need to do is listen to each other, mija. Promise me that you two will always listen to each other,” Ray implored his daughter.

Julie stiffened, offended that her dad would think she wouldn’t care for Luke the way he deserves. “Of course, Dad,” Julie promised.

Ray said the same thing to Julie that he told Luke earlier that day, “I will be here for you. If you need a sound board, advice, a sympathetic ear. But what I will not do is tell either you or Luke what you should do or what the ‘right answer’ is if you fight. That’s part of being in a relationship,”.

Julie nodded and looked over her shoulder towards the studio. “Go,” Ray said. “He’s waiting for you.”

Julie hopped up out of her seat and hugged her dad, “Thank you for caring,” She whispered in his ear, before racing out the door toward Luke.

Ray watched from the kitchen window as Luke met Julie halfway and swept her up in his arms, spinning her around. The faint sound of the two of them laughing reached Ray’s ears from the back door that Julie had left open in her haste to get outside.

No, Ray thought, he wouldn’t have to worry about those two. Their love was just as deep as his own had been with Rose.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave a kudos (or a comment)!


End file.
